[Long Island, N.Y.] Hurricane Sandy brought wide-spread damage to the North East. The super storm struck ground near Atlantic City, N.J. Oct. 29 with winds in excess of 80mph claiming at least 209 lives and an estimated $20 billion in damages.
While manufacturers, distributors and retailers servicing the area contacted by FCW reported no loss of life, several reported the complete annihilation of storefronts and homes in the hardest hit coastal regions of New Jersey and New York.

“Ocean City and Delaware got hit pretty badly with ocean damage coming inland, destroying boardwalks and causing flooding, but as you move up into Atlantic City and Long Island it gets progressively worse with infrastructure damage,” said Jeff Striegel, president and CEO of Elias Wilf, which services territory spanning from the Outer Banks of North Carolina up into Connecticut. “Dealers aren’t worried about business, they’re worried about getting themselves and employees electricity.”
Jeff Kaspin, owner of Monroe Township, N.J.-based A.B. Carpet was one of the 8.5 million residents in the Northeast without power a week after the storm. His location was spared, receiving only minor cosmetic damage.

With 14 locations in the path of Hurricane Sandy, Avalon Carpet Tile and Flooring palletized its inventory and samples and loaded them into truck containers to keep them dry and safe, said Sean O’Rourke, vice president of hard surfaces, Avalon.

“Our Ocean City location took on about two feet of water, ripped out the dry wall and destroyed our displays and showroom floors,” said O’Rourke. “We now have a temporary showroom set up in the parking lot with trailers. We’re making the most of it. Customers are digging out and eventually business will start to come in.”
Kaspin told FCW he had eight insurance claims when he finally received power and could reopen his location on Nov. 9. “This is just the beginning,” he said. “Most people are still without power. I have an installer who lost his house and is living at the store. There are millions of tons of sand in the streets. When the basics get taken care of, we’ll see more claims coming in.”

Local distributors said they expect to see a surge in replacement business related to flooded basements within 30 to 60 days with larger construction projects following in about six months.

Bob Wagner, president and CEO of Fishman Flooring Solutions, which has locations throughout the impacted area, said many lost homes won’t be rebuilt. “I’m not so sure a lot of people can buy insurance for beach homes,” he said. “My guess is a lot of those homes that got knocked down won’t be rebuilt.”
Kim Holm, president of residential business, Mannington, which is based near the coastal wetlands of Salem, N.J., said, “The eye of the storm went right over our campus. All around us was terribly hit but we went unscathed.”

Rosana Chaidez, vice president of sales, marketing and procurement at J.J. Haines, said the logistical infrastructure is in place to handle the rebuild. “If you go to the volumes we used to handle in 2006 and 2007 compared to the opportunity that might be presented with the rebuild, not only are we ready from a stocking position, our managers are very well positioned to do that,” she said.

Based in North Carolina, CMH Space Flooring is no stranger to hurricanes and has worked with the Red Cross for the past five years to help communities recover from natural disasters, according to Art Layton, vice president of marketing, CMH Space Flooring Products. The distributor, he said, began stockpiling carpet, carpet cushion and vinyl a week before Hurricane Sandy made landfall.

“We take a sales percentage of the basics that are going to be needed and donate that to the Red Cross. We know from experience that they take immediate action,” said Layton.